Tony Stewart has been practicing diplomacy for the past three seasons, rarely showing his well-documented temper since he became an owner as well as a driver in the Sprint Cup Series.

Of course, there wasn’t much to complain about. Stewart-Haas Racing had one of the most successful launches in Cup Series racing, with Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet finishing the 2009 season in sixth place and Ryan Newman’s No. 39 ride finishing in ninth.

Tony Stewart's legendary temper was on display once more after the Michigan 400. (AP Photo)

Newman struggled in the team’s sophomore season, but he won at Phoenix, and Stewart had two victories. The No. 15 made the Chase again in 2010.

But this season, Stewart is on the cusp of the Chase, fighting to get in with zero wins and sitting at 10th in the standings after Michigan. That’s a precarious spot with the Wild Card rule in play that rewards race winners. With that background, Stewart’s temper flared after finishing ninth Sunday in the Pure Michigan 400.

“I will be perfectly honest, at this point of the deal, if we are going to run this bad, it really doesn’t matter whether we make the Chase or not because we are going to be occupying a spot in the Chase that somebody else that actually can run for a championship is going to be trying take because our stuff is so bad right now, we’re wasting one of those top-12 spots right now,” he said.

The next few weeks could improve Stewart’s mood and Chase chances. He traditionally has run well at Bristol (one win), Atlanta (three wins) and Richmond (three wins).